Theoretical Photodynamic Study of the Photoprotolytic Cycle of Firefly Oxyluciferin

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2013

Authors

da silva, lp (Author) Other; simkovitch, r (Author) Other; huppert, d (Author) Other; da silva, jcge (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: ChemPhysChem

Vol. 14

Pages: 2711-2716

ISSN: 1439-4235

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 22 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 19 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Chemical sciences

CORDIS: Physical sciences > Chemistry

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-006-85F

DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201300330

Abstract (EN): Firefly oxyluciferin presents a pH-sensitive fluorescence in aqueous solutions. Its fluorescence spectra are composed of two green peaks at different pH values, despite the enolate anion being the only emitter. A computational approach was used to further elucidate the photoprotolytic cycle of oxyluciferin and investigate its pH sensitivity. It was found that oxyluciferin forms - stacking complexes both in the ground and excited states, at basic and acidic/neutral pH. However, at different pH values, these complexes adopt a different conformation, which explains the lower energy of the emission at acidic/neutral pH, in comparison with the emission at basic pH.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 6